Daughter of Steel
by Starsa83
Summary: With the lock down of the Brotherhood Of Steel Hidden Valley Bunker lifted with the aid of the Courier, Junior Paladin Olivia Romano is thrilled to be in one of the first patrols allowed out into the wastes again. But all does not go to plan... (Courier and Veronica will be in later chapters.) I'd love to hear what you think of the story, so feel free to review :)
1. Chapter 1

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi Everyone! This is my first posting, I hope you enjoy it. Some of you will notice that some of the spelling is wrong eg "Polarised" instead of "Polarized" The reason for this, is I'm an Australian, and we use an 's' instead of a 'z' in "ised' or 'isation' type words, so i apologise (See!) if there's any confusion with the crossover of English/American - English/Australian Grammar.

This story, like many of my others are the product of dreams, including my first published novel, and many of my works on other websites.

I'm working on a few stories, including another Fallout universe fanfic, which i will post soon as I;m satisfied with the first chapters

I hope you enjoy Daughter Of Steel!

Daughter of Steel.

Olivia Romano couldn't wipe the grin off her face; the recently promoted Junior Paladin was finally going on her first patrol outside the Brotherhood of Steel's hidden bunker in Hidden Valley. After years of being cooped up in the hulking metal bunker, and she was finally going to feel the sun on her face, or rather, the sun on her T-51B Power Armour helmet.

Head Paladin Hardin and Elder McNamara had stood proudly before her at her promotion ceremony, and she was surrounded by friends and comrades as she received her Junior Paladin Rank.

"Your parents would be proud, Olivia, I know I am. I have watched you grow from a shy young initiate, to the confidant young soldier who now stands before me. Steel Be with You." Elder McNamara had said, smiling at her.

"For the Brotherhood!" she said, saluting her Elder.

Only days before, the Courier had helped the entire chapter by convincing the Elder to lift the lockdown. Olivia's patrol would be the third in as many days to go out and scout some nearby areas for technology, food sources and other items that could be of interest to their chapter.

She stood resplendent in her refurbished T-51B power armour, only the second set that she had worn. Her first set was for bunker use only. Her laser rifle was slung behind her and she held her helmet in the crook of her arm, while she waited with the other three Paladins in her patrol.

Head Paladin Hardin gave them their mission briefing in the command centre.

"The Town of Nipton was recently savaged by the soldiers of Caesars Legion, we have information that there may be pre-war tech in some of the abandoned houses, there are also several areas in that region that may contain other technology which may be of interest to our Scribes. You are to locate and retrieve any tech. We are not anticipating any combat situations, but we are aware of a group of petty raiders who call themselves the 'Jackals' that operate in the Nipton area be on the lookout, and stay sharp."

He nodded to each of the Paladins before him, his eyes staying on Olivia for a few seconds more, noticing the eagerness in her large, hazel eyes. "Take it easy rookie, Listen to your senior Paladin and keep your eyes open."

Olivia nodded, eyes shining with excitement, "Yes Sir." She said enthusiastically, grinning like an idiot.

Hardin dismissed the patrol and they marched through the bunker to the entry. Paladin Ramos met them and checked over their weapons, he went over every piece of their Armour, checking for faults that the paladins may have missed in their excitement at finally getting out of the Bunker. He thumped each paladin on their Armours shoulder pauldron as they passed his inspection.

"Go get them kid." He said to Olivia as she passed, she turned to him,

"Thanks Ramos." She said, still grinning as she put on her helmet, completing the Power Armour.

She was sealed in, the 'heads up display' activated. Compass, time, longitude and latitude information, personal dosimeter and friendly/enemy displays all played over the bullet-proof glass lenses in her helmet. The suit was fully powered and easy to move around in. much easier than the compulsory dead-weight suit training that she had undergone about six months ago.

Olivia took a deep sigh, trying to calm her nerves and excitement.

The door opened and the light of sunset broke through the dust momentarily blinding her before the lenses in her helmet polarised. She was the last to step out of the Bunker, the door closing behind her with a sense of finality. She held her laser rifle at the ready, and marched behind her fellow Paladins.

They departed Hidden Valley in the artificial sandstorm that camouflaged their home.

The lights of the NCR correctional facility shone to the southwest of the gates that led to the bunker complex. The Paladins marched through the dark, past the large prison which was now empty due to an NCR operation to take back control of the place. They followed the old Railroad through cuttings of high rock. Olivia keeping a sharp eye on the rocks overhead, aiming at anything that would make a noise.

Senior Paladin Reske looked at her, "Easy Kid, Its nice that you're alert, but don't go shooting at shadows, trust your equipment, conserve your ammo." he advised her over their in-built communication system.

"Yes, Sir."She replied over the comms

There was a landslide that had covered the tracks, and a small number of Bark Scorpions were scuttling around. Reske and Gomez cleared the road with their Gattling Laser and Minigun, taking out the offending scorpions with ease. They passed a Coyote and her young, but left them alone. The animals growled at then fiercely as they passed.

Nipton was quiet. The bodies of crucified Powder Gangers stood as a testament to the brutality of the Legion. Olivia looked up at one man, He was serene in death, clad in the blue simple uniform with his arms lashed to a crude cross.

It seemed such a harsh punishment for someone to endure. She looked closer, reaching up to the side of her helmet, activating the zoom control, she noticed there was a bullet wound in his chest. She reached up to touch the wound. Someone had shown these men mercy in ending their suffering, and she had a feeling it wasn't the Legion who had given them their mercy.

"Romano!" Senior Paladin Reske called to her, his voice sounding tinny with the enhancer on his helmet. "Leave him be, these Wastelanders are not our concern." He turned back to the abandoned house he was about to enter.

Olivia jogged up to cover his back while the other two Paladins checked another house.

It was soon evident from the computer terminals that there had been some pre-war tech in the form of two Mister Gutsy robots, one was inactive, having suffered severe damage and the other was nowhere to be seen. They marked the damaged bot for salvage with a tracking marker and continued to search the abandoned town.

The other houses, Nipton hotel, town hall and trading post had nothing else of interest, and the patrol moved on. There had been rumors of a crashed Enclave Vertibird past the hills, and an old Nuclear test site. The Enclave Tech was definitely worth checking out, and would be a great addition to the Chapter if they could salvage it.

The patrol moved quickly through the hills, past flocks of Bighorner sheep who gave them cursory looks before moving away. The countryside blended with the darkness around them, only the north shone lighter with the fluorescent hues of New Vegas.

On the way to the crashed Vertibird they were attacked by a large group of Feral Ghouls, Reavers and Glowing Ones swarmed over the four Paladins.

Reske's Gattling Laser and Gomez's Minigun made short work of many of them, and Olivia was fortunate enough to take out her first Kill. Sshe smiled from beneath her helmet as the ghoulified human, its body and brain so ravaged by the radiation nearby that it no longer thought as a man does, attacking anything in sight, but leaving its own kind.

As the bodies lay about them, their weapons cooling, Paladin Connors congratulated Olivia on her first kill.

"Nice shot, Romano, just the first of many I'm sure." She nodded her approval.

"Thank-you, Ma'am." Olivia replied, pride in her voice, she walked over to the pile of ash which had once been a radiation ravaged human, and poked it with the tip of her boot. The pile blew away on a whisper of wind to spread across the Mojave wasteland. Olivia felt no pity for the Ghoul that she had killed, they were getting a merciful end to their horrendous, insane existence.

They followed the base of the cliffs, searching for the downed enclave vertibird. They had not found it when the eastern sky became light with dawn. Reske called a halt to rest until dusk.

Reske removed his helmet and looked around with his eyes, "We'll camp here." Romano, secure the perimeter, twenty meter radius, standard observations, report back here asap."

"Yes Sir!" Olivia responded. She scouted around on his orders, checking the perimeter of their camp for any threats. "All clear!" she called, heading back down from the slight hill.

Reske settled on the ground, resting his back against a rock. his blonde locks had a slight streak of grey to them. He was one of the more experienced Senior Paladins on active patrol duty. He settled back against a rock and lifted a bottle of water to his lips. His blonde locks suddenly scattered with chunks of his brain and flesh across the dusty ground as his head exploded, a rifle crack was heard less than a second later.

Olivia looked in shock as Reske's body went slack and slumped to the side, no head left on his shoulders, his prized Gattling Laser pinned beneath his heavy armored body and unreachable.

Time seemed to slow as Olivia dived behind a boulder as bullets began to fly, ricocheting against the rocks that surrounded them.

"Stay put, Romano, use the cover!" Connors called to Olivia, who was now separated from the other two Paladins, and the only one who still had her helmet on, to stay down.

She risked a look around the rock that protected saw several figures in crimson Armour.

"Legion!" she called over the comm system to the others.

Connors fired her tri-beam laser at the enemy, risking a peek and aiming at one of the legionaries cost her dearly, she took a bullet in her neck.

Olivia watched as her comrade fell to the ground, twitching in agony as the blood rushed from the open wound between her fingers as she desperately tried to stem the flood.

Gomez reloaded, slamming another pack of 5mm rounds into his Minigun and firing from behind the cover, the casings cascaded behind him into a clinking pile.

Olivia took aim over the boulder and fired. She heard a hiss as a legionary disintegrated into a pile of ash.

It was when Gomez's minigun overheated that Olivia knew that they were screwed,

'Oh Fuck!' she thought to herself, breathing heavily, her heartbeat racing. She was on the verge on panic, 'My first patrol ends in my getting everyone killed, how could I be so fucking careless?'

The adrenaline pushed its way through her system, her heart thundering in her ears, her mouth dry and her hands began to shake. Her body's 'fight or flight' response had kicked in.

Gomez was trying to cool his weapon when the ground beside him erupted with the percussive explosion of a frag grenade. Without his helmet on, he was killed outright. The force of the explosion threw Olivia from the protection of the boulder.

She heard a shout and as she scrambled to get back to the safety that the boulder held, three small, cylindrical objects dropped into the dust beside her. With a tell-tale pulse of a blue dome, cracking with electricity, each pulse grenade detonated a second after the first.

Her Power Armour went haywire, the servos began to fail, they whined in high pitches and she found her arms and legs flailing out of her control. Her muscles screamed with the mistreatment from the Armour's dying motions. She cried out as he muscles and limbs were pulled in directions that they were not meant to be pulled in.

Her jerking motions caused her to throw away her laser rifle, it clattered away across the blodied ground to rest against a rock, out of reach and useless to her now.

As the pain got too much to bear, she began to lose consciousness. As the suit finally died, she lost consciousness. The last thing she saw before the darkness took her was the sandal-clad feet of the surviving legionaries before her helmeted head.


	2. Chapter 2,

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, just going back through and fixing up little mistakes that I have missed, adding a little here and there so it (hopefully) flows a little better! Thanks for Reading, I hope you're enjoying it! and for those who have reviewed, thanks so much! I greatly appreciate it.

-Starsa83

Hours later she awoke, still clad in the defunct Helmet and Power Armour.

A camp fire burned before her, and a man stood with his back to her. She tried to move into a sitting position, but she found that her hands and feet had been bound. At the sound of her moving, her captor turned around. The Decanus turned and smiled at her.

"Ah, the brave soldier of the Brotherhood has awoken. Not so tough now are we profligate?" He muttered. She was hauled into a sitting position, and her legs were unbound.

"Get him up, we march immediately, I'll not risk his compatriots coming for him, besides, the information that we can gather from him will be of great value to Caesar." Olivia was hauled to her feet and pushed forward.

Her suit had gone sluggish with the pulse grenades having destroyed the electronics that ran the power Armour. It was now a dead weight on her body. Every muscle ached horribly, and a thirst raged in her throat.

"Please, water." she said, the dead suit muffling the feminine lilt of her voice, and the dryness of her throat making her sound gruff and masculine.

"At Cottonwood Cove, you can drink. You will march now." Snapped the Decanus as he marched away from the camp. Olivia was pushed forward roughly by the two men behind her and made to follow.

The suit was difficult to move, several times she stumbled and had to be helped up by the Legionaries who cursed her and struck ineffectively at the armour with the butts of their weapons.

It was a long, hot and agonising march, but finally, hours later, they made their way down the broken road to cottonwood cove. A man clad in black leather was lashed to a cross, he groaned. One of the men behind her muttered and spat in the crucified man's direction.

"Khan Degenerate!" as they passed. "They will never make good legionaries, nor will they make good slaves. It is better that we kill every last one of them."

The legionary walking beside him agreed.

"Yes, those degenerates need to be eradicated, just as these technological cultists do." he said, shoving her to the ground. The men laughed as she struggled to get to her feet.

The weight of the Armour combined with exhaustion proved too much. She collapsed again, she barely got to her knees when the men lost patience and started to drag her towards Cottonwood Cove.

"Pathetic. Behold the might of the Brotherhood of Steel. Fool can't even walk to the slave pen. It is no wonder that they are a dying breed." The voice of Aurelius of Phoenix floated down from the top of the building where his office was located.

Olivia raised her still helmeted head to look at the Centurion who stood above them. Standing beside the tall man with the crimson plume upon his helmet was another soldier who wore a coyote's head in place of a helmet.

He spoke as she was dragged past and thrown into the slave pen, the gate slamming shut and locked by Canyon Runner, the slave master.

"Let him rest one hour, and then we will travel to the Fort. He will be presented to Caesar as a gift. The knowledge he has will allow us to finally destroy the Brotherhood of Steel in the Mojave." Vulpes Inculta seemed pleased withe the captive Brotherhood of Steel soldier before him.

Canyon Runner looked up to the Frumentarii and the Centurion. "It is a pity that he must leave us so soon; I would relish a chance to break down a man of Steel." He turned to look at Olivia who lay upon the ground. She moved slowly into a position of small comfort, leaning against the brick wall that formed the fourth wall of the slave pen.

Upon the building next to the slave Pen where Aurelius stood there was red graffiti, upon which was scrawled some very poorly worded Latin:

_"Romanes Eunt Domus!" _it read, Her Latin was a bit rusty, but it didn't seem to make sense, "People called Romanes, they go the house?" she whispered the translation, someone obviously was telling the Legion to go home by using bad Latin. She smiled despite herself, and turned her head back to the river. The river shone beautifully in the sunshine beyond her prison.

A bottle of dirty water was thrown into the pen, landing nearby. She scrabbled for it with strained and aching muscles. She opened the lid and lifted her helmet just enough that she could drink without revealing she was a woman. The water was wonderful on her parched throat, and she refused to think how much radiation she was taking in by drinking the contaminated water.

Her respite was short, however, Vulpes Incula stood before the fence of the slave pen.

"You!" he said to her. "On your feet degenerate!" Canyon Runner opened the gate, and when she was slow to get up, she was rushed by four Legionaries who pulled her to her feet. She was jostled and pushed towards the raft. Vulpes was smug, and commented "Make sure he does not fall into the water, he probably can't swim."

Olivia bore the treatment silently, her mind ticking over to the safety of her people. How could she keep them safe from these heartless, merciless bastards who wanted nothing less than the total destruction of the Brotherhood of Steel? Was the Elder wrong to have lifted the lockdown? Why had the Courier not told them how bad it really was out here?

She looked out at the receding shoreline, and her hopes quailed, fear began to arise within her.

A few hours of travelling upon the water and The Fort was in sight.

As soon as they docked, Olivia was forced to her feet, and with her hands still bound she was marched through the camp, past curious slaves, soldiers with open hated on their faces and growling mongrel dogs.

The sights of the camp were clouded by the grit and dust that had accumulated upon her helmet. Her breathing was hoarse inside her head, throat dry from the heat of the day and exhaustion an ever-present and unwanted companion.

The red haze of exhaustion seemed to seep at the edges of her vision and penetrate her mind, yet ever the soldier, she worked hard on memorising every detail that she could for she planned to escape any way she could.

They passed through a gate to the inner camp of Caesar. His pavilion stood in the middle of the camp, set upon the top of the hill. at the entrance to the pavilion stood two Praetorian guards.

"What is this?" asked one of the guards, indicating Olivia. Vulpes Inculta stepped forward, "A gift for the Son of Mars." He explained The Praetorian guard looked Olivia over, and then nodded for them to enter.

Caesar sat upon his throne, his loyal Praetorian guards surrounding him. They came on edge at the sight of Olivia in full head-to-toe, but filthy power armour. Vulpes Inculta spoke smoothly,

"Mighty Caesar, this captive is a gift, he poses no threat to you, he has no weapons, and his suit has been deactivated." he stepped aside and with a flourish towards the dramatic he presented the bound PAladin to his Emperor.

Caesar smiled. "An excellent gift, bring him forward." Olivia was pushed towards the throne, her cumbersome suit of Armour failed her and she stumbled and fell to her hands and knees to the laughter of the Praetorian Guard.

"I hope the information contained within his metal shell is more valuable than the waste of meat it holds." Caesar shifted to lean forward. He knocked upon her helmet. "Is there intelligence in there, or just a hulking technological freak?"

Olivia thought for a moment before framing her response in a low growl

"Fuck. You. Asshole."

She was struck from the side by a ballistic fist wielded by Lucius, Caesar's head guard and sent sprawling, her vision swimming.

"Speak with respect, degenerate" he growled, raising his ballistic fist for another strike.

Caesar stopped him from striking her again, "Remove that helmet, I want to see his face before I force the location of the Brotherhood from his pathetic lips."

She was forced into a sitting position her legs straight and her hands found the only comfortable position in their bindings on her lap.

A pair of hands began to tug on her helmet, it loosened her hair from its tie and it spilled free as the helmet came off.

There was a heavy silence as her dark hair fell about her shoulders, and a lock settled across her left eye. The men were stunned. Beneath this tough shell of metal was not a man, but a woman of stark beauty, dark hair and large doe-eyes. Caesar broke the stunned silence.

"Well, this gift is full of surprises Inculta. You never fail to amuse me." Caesar said with a smile that made Olivia very uncomfortable. He turned his attention to her.

"Woman, you will tell me the location of your base, and the pass-codes to gain entry."

Olivia looked at him. "My previous statement stands, 'Fuck. You. Asshole.'" This time Caesar himself struck her. As she lay on the floor dabbing at the cut to her lip with the black gloves that covered her hands, she glared at him.

"Sit her back up." He ordered his guard. When she was back in her position, he asked her again. Her response of 'Go to Hell.' She received the same treatment.

When he asked a third time, she spat at him, mixing blood and spittle in a glob that struck the base of his throne. He smiled cruelly, and pointed at her.

"Take her to the Arena, teach her some respect." He arose and marched past her, out of the tent, as Lucius grabbed a handful of her lustrous hair and used it to haul her up to her feet.

She grabbed his wrist with her bound hands to try and take the pressure of her scalp, crying out in pain as he lifted her, her boots scrabbled for purchase on the carpets of Caesar's tents.


	3. Chapter 3

AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks for reading so far guys, I'd love to hear what you think of the story so far, any reviews i get can help me to improve my story telling/writing. Hope you are enjoying it so far. there's more to come soon.

Lucius pushed her outside into the glaring daylight. She had lost track of time, her body had survived the harsh trek in non-functioning power armour, and dehydration and no food were also taking their toll. As they marched through the camp, Men saluted Caesar as he passed; many legionaries and slaves began to follow their procession to the Arena. Lucius still had a grip upon her hair, forcing her head back; he kept a hand upon her back, pushing her forward.

Caesar took a place on a platform above the Arena wall where he could get a birds eye view.

Olivia, Lucius and two other Praetorian Guard stood within the encircling steel walls of the Arena.

Caesar pointed to her. "Remove her armour."

She was grabbed by the other two Praetorian Guard and held in place Lucius took up tools and began to dismantle her protective but defunct armour.

In short order, her gauntlets, greaves and pauldrons were stripped and her arms left bare. Her Brotherhood tattoo stood stark blue against her skin on her left shoulder. The men watching jeered at her, calling out insults to her, making crude suggestions.

A wave of hatred and contempt washed over Olivia as she was forced to her back for Lucius to begin removing her leg armour. She kicked at him as best she could, earning her a strike to the head.

Despite her struggles, Lucius' work was accomplished very quickly, and the discarded parts were thrown to the spectators as souvenirs. Her helmet had been brought by one of the guards who held her, Lucius grabbed this and threw it to Caesar who deftly caught it and held it aloft to the cheers of his men.

Finally her breast and back plates were removed, revealing a young, lithe and finely muscled body. The catcalls and lewd suggestions from the soldiers watching from the sides became more fervent. She was hauled roughly to her feet and stood before them in her underclothes. She stood proudly glaring up to Caesar, who looked deep into her eyes. A battle of psychological wills began within their locked eyes.

"Romano, Olivia. Paladin junior rank, Mojave Chapter of the Brotherhood of Steel. Service number BOS dash MC dash zero five nine three three seven." Olivia intoned glaring up at Caesar.

"Lucius, No Broken bones." He ordered and waved his hand for the Praetorian guards to begin.

Lucius struck her with bare fist in the side of the head, she stumbled to the left, and another praetorian guard struck her from the other side, felling her. They stood back and waited for her to get up. She got back to her feet and began again, locking eyes on Caesar.

"Romano, Olivia. Paladin Junior rank, Mojave…" she breathed roughly before Lucius and the other praetorian guards laid into her. She began to fight back as best she could in her exhausted state, not wanting them to get the better of her, but knowing that in the end that they would beat her down to the earth.

Each time she was knocked down, they waited for her to get back to her feet, and each time she regained her footing, she began to recite her name and rank looking at Caesar. She was visibly wavering the last time she got up. She took a breath as to begin reciting her name and rank and Lucius struck her against the side of the head. She fell for the last time, her head swimming and eyesight blurring at the edges, yet she still bore her eyes towards Caesar. He was the last thing she saw before the darkness that crept at the edges claimed her into unconsciousness.

Hours later she stirred. Pain flashed through every part of her, her breathing was ragged and under labour, hunger gnawed at her stomach and thirst had dried her throat, her face was aflame with heat and pain and her bladder screamed out for relief. She sat up slowly, her head span. Vision sparkled before her unbruised eye, the other swollen shut the smell of her blood was is her nose and crusts of the crimson crackled from her swollen lips.

Soft candlelight shone into the tent where she lay. There was a queen sized bed and an autodoc at its foot. A desk was nearby, the light emanating from it. From behind the desk Caesar sat. He watched her as she regained her senses. He studied the woman from the Brotherhood of Steel with the eye of a predator.

Without their Power armour or their high-tech weapons, they were weak and pathetic. The wretched proof sat before him, swaying slowly as she gathered her bearings.

"Are you thirsty?" he asked her. Her attention went to him faster than he could imagine.

"Yes, but I have another more urgent need to attend to first." She replied so softly, she coughed dryly, wheezing a little bit. "I need to use a toilet, please." She held her side where the guards had kicked her in the ribs, her skin was marred with blue and purple blotches where bruising had surfaced

"I'll send someone to take you, but first you must answer a question." He looked at her. There was a mark of beauty beneath the injuries that his loyal praetorian guards had inflicted upon her. He had seen it before, when they had removed her helmet.

Her dark hair and deep eyes had caught him, and he had been enthralled, and so were his men.

There were already several requests for her when he had finished with her. It was something he would have to decide, for she was far too valuable to him right now. In her he held the power to finally destroy the Brotherhood of Steel in the Mojave, and there was something else, lust rose to the forefront of his mind. She was a stunning woman beneath the damage his men had inflicted, and he would possess her, by Mars, he would have her, broken and compliant.

"Ask." She replied wearily, dreading the question.

"What were you doing in the area where you were caught?" he said, coming around to sit on the edge of the desk.

"My patrol was scouting for unclaimed tech, and we were resting when your men attacked us." She said, the pain was evident on her face, it hurt to speak, hurt to breathe, and hurt to move. Caesar nodded, "And how many of you were there in your patrol?"

Olivia smiled painfully, she was sure that one of her teeth had been knocked loose. "You said I had to answer 'a' question, and then you'd let me go to the toilet, I won't answer until you let me go and relieve myself." Caesar smiled darkly, at her.

"So I did." He replied with a smirk. He turned to the doorway of his private quarters. "Lucius, take her to refresh herself." Lucius had been standing there the whole time, writing down her responses. He entered and took up Olivia by the arm she flinched at his touch, and the pain flared again. She hissed though her teeth, trying to take the concentration away from the agony.

He marched her out of Caesar's tent and down the hill to the slave quarters. She was handed over to two female slaves who helped her to the washroom. She used the toilet and washed her hands and face, relishing the cold water on her brutalised skin, clearing the blood from her skin, and running her fingers through her knotted hair. She looked at herself in the shattered mirror, her nose was swollen, cheeks and one eyes dark with bruises.

She returned to Lucius' 'tender' care and was returned to Caesar's presence. Caesar picked up a rag and threw it to her. in her hands she held what she would have laughingly called clothes, if she had been in the mood to laugh. A short dress in poor condition made of a rough white material, she held it in front of her and noticed the red 'x' painted roughly on the front.

"Put that on." Caesar ordered her. She quickly complied, covering herself.

Caesar indicated for her to sit opposite him at the table. She gingerly sat down, wincing as she put her weight on tender and bruised areas.

He had before him a spread of food. Roast Brahmin with mashed potatoes and carrots, desert salad, bottles of Nuka Cola and Sunset Sarsaparilla, and water. Banana yucca fruits lay on a green plate with barrel cactus fruit upon a red plate beside it. Caesar had two plates in front of him. He began to place some of the banana yucca, barrel cactus fruit on one plate. He grabbed a bottle of Nuka Cola, removed the cap, and placed them before her.

She wasn't sure what to do, the smell of the food in front of her was mouth-watering, her stomach angrily demanded its due, and she blushed beneath the bruises. "Excuse me." She said quietly, embarrassedly.

"Answer my question and you can eat something on your plate." Caesar told her gently, as he began to carve the roast Brahmin. She was suspicious of his tone, everything screamed to her of danger in regards to the man before her.

"Four, a senior paladin, two regular paladins and myself, a junior paladin. It is a standard patrol grouping." She replied, watching the glint of the knife as he carved the meat.

'_How long would it take for me to kill you, you bastard?_ She thought to herself.

He smiled, catching the look in her eye. "You may eat two fruit from your plate. Any attacks you might be entertaining my dear, you should put out of your head," he said, moving to her side. The carving knife was at her throat in less than a second. "Because you won't fucking make it anywhere near me before my men cut you down like the Brotherhood Tech-whore you are." He held her head back with his free hand and again their eyes met. He could see the fear replacing the cunning in her eyes.

"Remember your place." He spoke vehemently, "You will learn, in the coming days that to cross me is ill advised. I can be merciful, but I can also be wrathful." He stroked her hair gently and removed the knife from her skin. Olivia's hands went to her throat, no blood had seeped through, and there was no cut. He moved her plate closer to her and continued to serve his own meal.

With hands shaking uncontrollably, she picked up a banana yucca and began the painful process of eating. She had barely gotten halfway through the fruit when Caesar finished his meal, placed his cutlery upon his plate and wiped his face with a cloth napkin. He reached over and took her plate; she continued to chew slowly as she watched him cut the fruit on her plate into more manageable sized pieces before returning the plate to her.

"Thank-you." She said softly.

"You're welcome." He soured himself a glass of water. "In the coming days you will learn your place is at my feet, you are now my slave. Your knowledge of technology will be of great use to me. I have quite a few things in this camp that require a technological mind." He sipped at his water, reclining slightly.

Olivia put the half eaten fruit down on her plate. "And if I refuse to help you?"

Caesar smiled at her, his eyes full of malice. "I would not recommend that, it would not be wise."

Olivia frowned, "You can't possibly expect me to tell you where my people are?"

"All in good time." He replied. Caesar arose from the table and walked around to where she sat. He placed his hands upon her shoulders and felt her flinch at his touch, the slight tremble of her skin under him infused him with the heady rush of power. He leaned in close to her ear and whispered.

"You are a beautiful woman, you have no idea how much I desire you." She was up and out of the chair in a flash; she backed away from his presence, eyes wide with fear. She was stopped from moving any further by Lucius grabbing her arms and holding her in place. Caesar sauntered casually up to her.

He raised a hand and gently stroked her face. "You can run, but in the end, I will have you." He gripped het chin and kissed her savagely." She twisted in Lucius' grip, he held her tight.

Caesar broke the kiss and turned away. Olivia spat the taste of him from her mouth to the floor. He turned back to her, and she glared at him, naked hatred written all over her beautiful, bruised face.

He pointed to the mat where she had woken. "You will sleep there. In the morning, I will give you your first assignment."

"I have an assignment for you. Go to hell, how's that for an assignment?" she suggested. Caesar looked at her as he began to remove his armour. "I can guarantee, my dear that you will be there a long time before Me." He placed his armour upon a table beside his bed.

Lucius pushed her to the mat and forced her to lie down. "Is there anything else, sir?" he asked of Caesar.

Caesar looked to his friends and head bodyguard. "No, Lucius my friend, you are loyal as always, I will see you in the morning." Caesar waved him away and finished undressing.

Olivia lay upon the mat and hugged her arms around her shoulders. She shivered but not with chill. She would not sleep that night.


	4. Chapter 4

During her first night as Caesars 'guest' she watched as the quiet slaves moved about, clearing the table silently so as not to disturb the Master. A Praetorian guard stood beside the entry, keeping an eye on her. Of course she was not to be trusted, she was still their enemy, and the feeling was more than mutual. Caesar awoke before the dawn and left to attend to his needs. He returned and watched her as she watched him.

"Get up, you have work to do." he growled. The man looked ill, dark circles ran beneath his eyes, he was pale and he seemed to waver on his feet a little. Olivia arose stiffly, feeling every bit as tired as Caesar looked.

She was pushed to a kneeling position before his throne. She watched as he pressed thumb and forefinger above the bridge of his nose as if trying to relieve the pressure from a headache. He took a deep breath and returned his attention to her, his eyes seemed to take a little while to focus.

"There is a console you will look at, it is connected to a door but we have so far been unable to open it. You will get it open." He said with a strained voice. Whatever was causing him such pain must be serious.

"And if I refuse?" she provoked testily. He flew at her, forcing her into a laying position, her legs caught under their weight. His hand clenched around her throat. "Then there will be a cross awaiting you, if I don't kill you first." He growled, fury showing in his eyes.

Her scents of fear and femininity perforated his senses, he felt her struggle to breathe under his grip, and her body trembled beneath him. He smiled. "I will have a reward for you if you succeed." He removed his weight from her. She rolled to her hands and knees, coughing and gasping, a hand to her bruised throat. She turned to look at him. He was again seated upon his throne, a vision in serenity.

"Go." Was all he said, dismissing her.

With an escort of Legionaries and a Praetorian Guard leading, she was taken to a building. Inside there was equipment for measuring weather, and a console that had nothing to do with meteorology.

She examined this console, going over the controls, which had no was a slot for a removable storage device, but it looked like nothing that was around today would fit it. She asked for a screwdriver and opened the console, thinking that she could re-wire it to make it work. It was puzzling to see inside, the internal systems were nothing like the pre-war tech she was used to.

It was so advanced, and she realised that the only way to get it working, was to have the missing component inserted into the slot. she put everything back in its proper place and replaced the service cover.

"I'm sorry, there's nothing I can do. This is far more advanced than anything the Brotherhood has ever come across." The Praetorian moved quickly to confront her.

"You were told to get it working, Profligate, "You know the punishment for refusal." He nodded his head to the Legionaries who grabbed her arms and dragged her out into the bright morning sunshine. She was dragged kicking and screaming to the rows of crosses that lined the Fort's roads.

"No! please, please!" she screamed and struggled against the heavy grip of the soldiers, her heart pounding. She knew how she looked, pathetic. She was a Paladin of the Brotherhood of Steel for fucks sake, one of the best trained soldiers in the Mojave. But now, she was nothing more than a screaming hysterical woman reduced to this state by harsh treatment from chauvinistic, sadistic cruel men who had no respect for women.

The soldiers lashed her to an empty cross beside the stinking corpses of two other people, she was not sure if the two decomposing corpses were men or women, it didn't matter, she would be like them soon, dead from exposure, or dehydration. She wept in despair at her situation.

Four hours later, at the height of noon Caesar stood before her.

"You were warned what would happen if you refused, and yet you decided to test me." He said to her harshly.

"No," she said weakly, "I did not refuse. The console is beyond my knowledge, it's far too advanced for me to figure out and I'm an expert at pre-war tech, all Paladins have to be." She felt the heat of the day burning against her skin, the chafing of the ropes only compounding her misery.

Caesar turned to the Praetorian Guard who had ordered her to be lashed to the cross.

"You said she refused." He said quietly

"My lord, she did refuse. The console is still inoperative." The Praetorian guard said back hasilty.

"Did she even look at the console? Did she open it and look inside?" Caesar's voice was strained again.

"Well, yes, sir, but she still did nothing to make it operational." Replied the Praetorian guard. Caesar looked harshly at him, then pointed to Olivia. "Cut her down." he growled.

Legion men went quickly to the cross and cut the ropes that bound her. She fell into an undignified heap at Caesar's feet, weak and tired." Caesar motioned to Lucius who came immediately to Caesar's side.

"Have her taken to my quarters and have Siri tend to her." Caesar moved away, allowing the men to pick up Olivia and carry her to Caesar's Tent, halfway there, she drifted into an exhausted sleep.

Olivia awoke with cool, damp cloths covering her sunburned forehead; a dark-skinned woman was gently wiping her down with more cool, damp cloths, the relief was wonderful. She began to sit up. Siri helped her,

"Take it slow, you've been out for a few hours, and as far as I know, you're the only one who has ever been taken down from the cross before she was dead." She held a glass of water to Olivia's lips. She drank greedily, and Siri removed the glass, "Slowly, sip it, or you'll bring it up." She returned the glass to Olivia's lips, and she was pleased to see the woman had taken her advice as she sipped the pure, clean water slowly.

Siri kept looking at Olivia, making her feel slightly uncomfortable. "You're very fortunate that Caesar had taken you from the cross, on a day like this, not many would have survived more than a few hours in the sun." she said as she squeezed water from the cloth in her hand into a bucket and continued to gently wipe Olivia's skin down, cooling it.

"Why did he take me down?" Olivia asked softly.

"He has need of you, for what I cannot say, but I suspect it has something to do with the damaged Autodoc over there, and perhaps he wants you for some other, more personal purpose."

Olivia shuddered, "I don't want him touching me, I hate him so much." Siri smiled sadly, "You may not have a choice. Not many of us women would envy you your position as his slave, as he is the one who must set the example to his men. He took a great risk in showing you mercy today, don't force his hand, just do what he says, because the next time he won't be so lenient."

Olivia coughed, and came up on one elbow reaching for the water. "I can't just let him have me, that is not something I can allow, I will fight him." she said determinedly. Siri shook her head in pity, "Then you will probably be back and adorning a cross before too long."

From beyond the curtain there was a commotion, and voices were heard being raised.

"What?" Caesar's voice was the loudest, "All of them?" there was the sound of a table being overturned, Siri paused in her ministrations only a second, before resolving to ignore the noise from Caesar's throne room.

Caesar listened again, "I want whoever is responsible dead, and their head is to be brought before me!" Olivia heard the soldiers move out. And she heard the word 'Nelson' repeated, and 'NCR' mixed in.

Siri finished ministering to Olivia and departed Caesar's quarters. She heard the slave woman speaking quietly to Lucius, who then spoke to Caesar. He emerged from behind the curtain and went down on one knee beside her, his anger at the other situation was evident.

"Men who are more honest with me told me that you did what you could. When you have recovered sufficiently, I will have another task for you. Consider your continuing existence your reward for trying to get the console working." He stood before she could respond and left his quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

Later that evening, he returned to find her stretching out her muscles, working the stiffness from the bruises that were now days old. He watched silently as she moved her magnificent, but battered physique in different stretches. He moved to the table and began to remove his Armour.

"Come here." He said to her. She moved quickly to stand behind him. "You may help me remove my Armour."

She moved her hands to the buckles of his chest plate. He stood still as she took the hefty piece from him and placed it upon the table. When she turned back to him, he placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her deeply, she took a step back but he held her hard. She protested and she struggled, but his strength was great.

He moved her to his bed and pushed her down into its softness, pawing at her, kissing her body pressing his body against her. She felt his need and desire as he pushed against her.

Her strength redoubled and she pushed his face away from her. Caesar's strength suddenly lagged and she was able to push him off her, she scrambled off the bed and away from him. He breathed heavily, and held his hands to the side of his head, the pain was evident.

Olivia fled his quarters and fell to the ground before Caesar's Throne. She shook and sobbed, her face in her hands. She calmed herself after a while and looked up at the open sky above her. A red star shone brightly she heard Caesar leave his quarters and stop behind her.

"That Red Star, its Mars, correct? The ancient Roman god that you profess is your father." She said softly, not wanting to bring up what just happened between them.

"Yes, the God of War. My Legate, Lanius wears a mask in the Image of Mars." He confirmed. "How appropriate." She muttered. He turned and headed back to his quarters. She sat there and watched as the stars passed above her. The movements of the Praetorian guards who stood watch and those who slept were her only companions in the darkness of night.

Caesar had almost taken from her what she vowed he would not take, and it was only his sudden weakness that had allowed her to escape. The Red Star of Mars had gone beyond the roof of the tents that surrounded the open area before she arose and headed back to her sleeping mat. Caesar was deeply asleep when she lay down.

Caesar sat upon his throne, the events of the night before were not spoken of by either of them. He fumed over his inability to dominate her body and mind.

She was still weak from her temporary crucifixion yesterday and the events of last night, but there was strength of will within her, and it was the desire to dominate that will, to crush it, and bend it to his desires that, once he had recovered from his temporary turn of physical weakness, that stopped him from having her killed, that and there was still the technical knowledge that she held within her that could heal him from the tumor that grew in his brain and caused his weakness to show.

The headaches had come more strongly, often turning into migraines, physical weaknesses in his hands and dizzy spells had caused him to drop items in front of his men. Lucius knew what was going on, but out of respect for Caesar, he had not told anyone of the problem.

The days passed with Caesar working on his campaign to eradicate the NCR and take New Vegas, Olivia's visible wounds and bruises finally healed, and word came from Caesar's Scouts that Cottonwood cove had fallen, every legion soldier stationed there was killed, and to add insult to injury the entire place was now irradiated and unusable. A major point of operations was now useless.

The atmosphere in his Quarters was dark and angry that night. He ordered her to help him undress. She moved timidly to him and began to unbuckle his Armour. He stood stoically and patiently as she finished the task. He stood there before her, clad in only his underwear. He moved to a wardrobe and took something from within.

Olivia noticed the glint of metal in his hand. A combat knife. He approached her, his intentions becoming clear.

Fear was a constant friend, and a well-known enemy. It was fear that allowed him to win his battle to dominate her body. It clouded her mind and stopped her desire to run away like a frightened Brahmin from a hungry Deathclaw.

He pushed her down into the harsh softness of his bed, the knife glinting with his malice in his hand. He grabbed the front of her slave tunic and cut through the material revealing her bra. He breathed a sigh of lust and breathed in her womanly scent. With a quick slice of the knife he cut away her underclothes and sat back, straddling her. She lay naked beneath him, her hair spread encircling her face, a fear within her eyes that he drank in and relished.

He removed his own underwear and pushed her legs apart, the true panic set in.

"No, please, I beg you, no… no… NOOOO!" she screamed as he forced his way into her. He felt her tense as he pushed himself into her most intimate place.

"Hush, my Venus." He said, kissing her.

He ravaged her that night, using her to vent his frustration and rage, enjoying the power and the pleasure of her pain. He rolled off her bathed in passion's sweat and exhausted. She lay there, emotionally crushed, violated and disgusted with herself for allowing him to take her, to use her.

She was no virgin, she'd had a lover at Hidden Valley, but he had been killed while trying to scout Nellis Airfield. The Courier had brought his holotag back to Hidden Valley.

David had been a gentle lover, considerate and kind, in contrast to the horrendous act that she had just endured at Caesar's hands. She lay still while he returned the knife to the wardrobe and locked it. She shivered, but not with cold as he returned to his bed. She curled herself into a ball and wept silently; he moved a little away from her and drifted to sleep.

She slipped away from his bed still naked, and grabbed a blanket from her sleeping mat and wrapped it around herself. She found the Praetorian Guard ignoring her as she moved into the open air throne room and stared up at the stars. Mars was there again in its bright and bloody glory. There was also another star, bright, white and pure. Venus. Goddess of Beauty and love. He had called her his Venus.

She knew some of the ancient Roman deity myths, Mars, God of War, and Venus, Goddess of Beauty and love were illicit lovers. It seemed that was how he wanted to play out his life, as that of a God. She vowed that one day, she would find a way to escape, and take his life for what he had done to her.

The Red Star seemed to mock her, but the pure White Star shone brighter with promise of vengeance for his actions against her.


	6. Chapter 6

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hi guys, hope you are enjoying the story so far, I'm working up to getting the ending very soon, a few more chapters to go though. Thanks for reading! please feel free to review!

She endured three more bouts of his fury, fighting back only once. Scratching his face with her nails was rewarded with a severe beating and a dislocated jaw. Caesar himself had pushed it back into place when he was finished with her. She saw his weakness affect him once more; she did not run from him this time, she just sat there and watched as he fought to regain control of his strength. It was then, that she realised how unwell he really was.

A few days later, he summoned her to his throne room. Lucius stood beside Caesar holding something wrapped in a piece of filthy cloth. "There is a piece of equipment in my quarters which is missing a vital part." Caesar began.

"The Autodoc, Master?" she asked. Caesar merely nodded, "It is missing a diagnostic component. Sources believe that there is one in one of the vacant Vaults. You are to accompany a patrol of my men and retrieve this component and return to me." Caesar waved a hand at Lucius who uncovered the object in his hand. It was an explosive tracker-collar, often known as a Slave Collar. Lucius handed the collar to Caesar who arose from his throne and moved to stand before Olivia.

"A gift for you, my dear, I hope it is to your liking." He secured the collar around her neck, brushing her hair from her face as he did so. "There, you are ravishing." He smiled. "You must return to me to have this little necklace removed. If you are foolish and try to run, my men have permission to activate the explosive charge in the collar. I will miss you my precious, but fail me in this, and you will wish that that whore of a mother never gave birth to you!" he said, as he gripped her hair, pulling it tight and making her wince with the paid. Caesar took the control from Lucius and pressed a button, the collar bleeped once, indicating that it was active. Caesar handed the control back to Lucius who smiled grimly as he took it.

Olivia was escorted to the docks by Lucius, who handed the collar control to the Prime Decanus who would be leading the mission to the Vault. He turned to his men, ignoring the Olivia, and spoke.

"Today we go for the Glory of Caesar to the other side of the River on a mission of great importance. We will cross south of Cottonwood Cove, due to the high radioactivity there, and instead land at the ruins of the Blue Paradise Vacation shacks, From there, we will travel to Techatticup Mine and change into different attire in order to travel undetected by the profligates"

The Soldiers moved to the waiting barge, Olivia was pushed forward by the Decanus. The men watched her from beneath their helmets casting unwholesome thoughts at her, for despite the damage Caesar had done to her mind, body and spirit, she was still a beautiful woman.

The trip took a few hours, the men spoke quietly amongst themselves, while Olivia thought hard how she was going to get away, there were ten men around her, all armed with machetes and guns, plus there was the 'gift' that Caesar had bestowed upon her.

She had an idea of how to get it off her neck without it going off and taking her head with it. A small unwelcome thought snuck into her head, 'but would it be better to die from your own hand, then to have Caesar take you a little piece at a time like he has been?' she pushed the negative thought from her head, and instead focused on her escape, if she could just get away from them, and grab the control, she could get to Hidden Valley and be safe with her people.

They were greeted by a group of Lakelurks who had taken up residence in the area, and the first of their men fell prey to friendly fire by getting in the way of the Decanus' line of fire. She had a strange little thought as the legionary died.

It popped up again, when they were attacked by a pack of Feral Ghouls two hours later, and another two men perished, leaving seven Legionaries. A Glowing one had popped up from behind a rock and ripped out the throat of the soldier who had taken point, it then raised its hands and forced out a massive dose of radiation from its body, before attacking another soldier.

Olivia, fortunately, was far enough away from the radiation burst that she didn't get any dosage, but two of the men were caught and she knew that they probably would only have a few days left, if they didn't get treatment. The mood of the Decanus was a very black one. They continued on, leaving the two dead men amongst the shattered bodies of the Feral Ghouls.

They marched on through the night, finally reaching the mine almost nine hours after they had made landfall. The soldiers were weary from the day's march and the battles they had fought, and Olivia was exhausted, she had not eaten nor had more than a mouthful of water pass her lips since they left The Fort. A bottle of water was thrown at her, landing at her feet, followed by a pack of potato crisps and a rusty tin of pork 'n' beans. It wasn't the meal that she had shared with Caesar when she had been handed over to him, but at least the company she was keeping had the good sense not to try and violate her – she hoped. She watched as the men serviced their weapons, cleaning the dust from the chambers, checking the bullets.

She nearly laughed out loud when she watched one of the legionaries actually washing his gun and bullets with Abraxo Cleaner, it would ruin the weapon and the bullets would be useless by the next day. A rough and many-holed blanket was thrown down next to her, the Decanus glared at her until she got the message, 'sleep.' She lay down on the rough ground of the mine and closed her eyes.

She didn't sleep much, but listened to the talk of the men.

"What is that _woman_ doing here with us?" one asked.

"She is that Brotherhood Paladin that they captured weeks ago, I think she's going to take us to their hiding spot so we can tell Caesar where it is." Replied another voice in the dark.

"If she wasn't his Slave, I'd have her, and fuck her until she begged for death, then I'd fuck her more, she's a nice piece of ass, for a Brotherhood tech-whore." At this Olivia cracked open one eye, and marked the son-of-a-bitch who had spoken, when she got the chance, that motherfucker would be the first, after Caesar that she would gladly gut. The men laughed, speaking about the profligates, and how they would pay at the hands of mighty Caesar. They soon settled down when the Decanus returned, handing them clothing and ordering them to get some rest.

The Decanus settled down near Olivia, he threw a set of clothing and boots her way she opened her eyes at the sound of the clothes landing beside her. she propped herself up on an elbow. The Decanus looked at her, "You will dress in those tomorrow, before we depart the mine for the Vault." He ordered her, before he lay down. From under the covers, she flipped the bird at him. "Yes, Sir." She replied softly, receiving only a grunt from the Decanus.


	7. Chapter 7

She was kicked awake and told to get up and change her clothes. She was not even afforded a bit of privacy as she dressed, the men appreciated her body as she undressed, and then put on the Trader's clothing that she had been handed. The Decanus came up to her and handed her a Storm-chaser's hat, complete with neck protection that hid the explosive collar. He turned to his men and yelled at them to get ready.

They left Techatticup mine and headed along the road to Nelson, they turned right and were coming up a rise when the ground below the first legionary began to beep,

_Beep…beep…beep…beepbeepbeepbeep BOOM!_ Olivia was knocked backwards with the percussive force of the frag mine, the body-parts of two soldiers scattered about them, dust and dirt fell like the rain that never fell since the week after the nuclear war. Olivia got to her feet and saw the DEcanus was still alive, and boy was he pissed off.

"I told you fools to watch your step!" he screamed at the bloody pieces on the ground. His remaining five soldiers picked themselves up and dusted down the dirt and splattered meat from the fellow soldiers.

'Great, Caesar has teamed me up with the most useless Contubernia in the legion!' her thoughts from the day before was finally confirmed. These men were idiots. She got some satisfaction though, one of the men whos molecular structure had been dispersed by the awesome explosive power of the frag mine was the one who had spoken about fucking her until she had wanted to die last night. The Decanus got the rest of the group into a semblance of order and they moved on. As she passed the mangled head of her 'favourite' legionary, Olivia spat a little, '_serves you right, you fucker._' She thought with grisly humour.

They turned right at Novac, and followed the '95' north. The Collection Tower of Helios One catching the first rays of sunshine, unassisted by the mirrors that surrounded it. The monolith stood as a testament to the old world, and a failure of the Brotherhood. It was here that her parents had both perished in the battle with the NCR, Father Elijah hadn't listened to his Paladins in regards to this place, and it had cost them dearly. She bowed her head for a moment as they passed the facility. One day, she hoped that the Brotherhood would find out the secrets of the place, to atone for the sacrifices of their fallen brethren but that day was not today.

Behind the Sun Tower, she saw the large antenna arrays of Black Mountain, part of that place helped to shield Hidden Valley from electrical detection. She was so close to home, and yet, so very damned far away. She looked to the western hills that separated her from home and safety.

They reached the 188 trading post hours later, and stopped for food. The Decanus had told the young girl at the 'shop 'n' slop' traders that Olivia was his wife ad that they were travelling with friends to see New Vegas, Michelle told them to take care with their caps, the Decanus smiled at her

"Oh don't worry, we're not for the gambling, we're for the show at the Tops, Aren't we darling?" he said, planting a kiss on her cheek, the sick bastard had opened his lips a little and flicked his tongue against her skin, it made her flesh crawl, but she smiled and nodded, "Yep, sure are." She smiled at the girl, hoping that the pleading in her eyes said otherwise. Michelle smiled, a little uncomfortably and said "Well, you will enjoy them, I'm sure. I hear they got new acts there now, including comedians and singers! I'd love to get a chance to go up to Vegas, but I have my work here." With that, she cleared their plates.

The Decanus got up and took Olivia by the arm, the remaining Legionaries followed suit. "Come, Darling, our destination waits." They continued north towards New Vegas. The top of The Lucky 38 arose like the Sun Tower at Helios One, collecting the day's sunshine. They left the main road and continued on through the dirt and sand of the wastes, despite the appearance that there was really nothing alive out here, life bloomed, sparse plant life and animals greeted Camp Golf. Olivia noticed the soldiers were on edge, hearing more than one muttering about how they would love to "Get those NCR profligates."

They continued for more an hour, then the Decanus called a halt, he took out the map and checked it. Olivia sat down in the dirt and rubbed her aching calves.

"It should be here," he said, pointing to the empty ground before them. One of the other Legionaries looked over the map. "I believe we should keep going this way, Sir." He said, pointing south, towards Lake Mead. The Decanus put his suggestion down with a severe look.

Olivia watched as they argued about which was to go, "Actually, you've travelled a little bit too far east, we need to turn around and head west, maybe north-west just a touch."

The Decanus turned on her, "And how would you know that, Whore?" he said, spitting with anger. Olivia smiled and pointed up, "The Sun." she got to her feet and stood face to face with the Decanus. "I don't need a compass to know what direction I'm traveling. Obviously they didn't teach you that at Legionary School?" the decanus seethed with anger at being shown up by a mere woman. He raised his hand as if to strike her, but suddenly remembered that she was Caesar's Slave, he took a deep breath and pointed north-east, "Move out." He growled, taking the lead. Olivia followed the column.

The sun was beginning to set by the time they reached the train carriages. The Decanus moved out without looking first, his last mistake.

There was an unearthly noise and a scream as he was ripped apart by a Deathclaw, Olivia stopped and instantly dropped underneath the nearest carriage, she watched as the Deathclaw consumed the unfortunate Decanus. Her heart nearly stopped as she watched the creature of nightmares swallow whole the arm that had the control for her explosive collar attached to the wrist, she waited a few heartbeats and found that the collar had not started to beep at her, telling her that her life was measured in seconds, she felt little comfort or relief.

His soldiers panicked and ran out. Other Deathclaws soon found their targets, bullets ricocheted from the railway carriages, a truck engine exploded, scattered body parts of both Deathclaw and Legion soldiers were blown away with the explosion, two men remained, still fighting the three Deathclaws that she could see. She took her chance and sprinted for her life, skidding to the 'safety' of the truck, its cab and engine still burning

It was not by chance that she had told the Legion Decanus that they needed to travel north east, she knew that there were Deathclaws about the area, and the Gypsum Train yard was just south of the Brotherhood's safe house. As the last two Deathclaws finished the legionaries, she heaved a sigh of relief, which was short lived. The two monsters had turned their heads in her direction, and were now snuffling out her scent. She looked at the creatures, both had white eyes.

"Blind? Those fuckers are _blind_ and they still know where I am. Oh fuck." She broke cover and made a mad dash for the safe house. She tripped on a broken piece of road and felt the tip of a claw strike her leg. Warm blood welled up from the gash and pain flared its fury through her, she scrambled away, the adrenaline pulsing with every panicked heartbeat. She reached the cover of the surrounding rocks

A figure stood on the rocks watching her, heavily armoured and carrying a Gattling laser. He opened fire on the creatures as they stalked the woman, cutting them into tiny, bite-sized chunks of deathclaw globs.

Olivia looked up at the whine of the pre-start sequence of a Gattling Laser. "Sato…" she breathed, knowing that it was Paladin Sato who was assigned to the Safe house. When the noise of the Gatling laser ceased, she stood up, "Sato!" she cried, "Oh Fuck it's good to see you man." He stood before her, a Paladin in shining power armour; she fell into his arms, exhausted and drained.

He helped her to the safe house and dressed her wound. "What the fuck happened? Where have you been, and who were those guys with you?" he asked her, "We thought you'd been killed with the others in your patrol, but no-one found your body." He explained.

She took off her hat, and revealed the explosive collar about her neck. Sato gaped at it, realising that it was armed.

"Crap, where'd you get that piece of tech?" he said, as he went to get his toolkit. She sat still as he worked on deactivating the collar and when he removed it without her losing her head, or him losing his hands, she breathed a deep sigh of relief and rubbed at her chafed neck.

"We were resting, when the patrol was ambushed killed, none of them had their helmets on, I'd just come back from securing the perimeter, the Legion soldiers came in from where I had begun my perimeter check, we all got complacent, but it was my fault, I killed them." She said, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"Stop that, you did not kill them, you did your job." Sato packed away his kit and returned with a plate of hot food and a bottle of clean water. As she ate, she relayed her story, "They pulsed my armour, I was double dead weight when they captured me, and I've never had such a workout in my life as when they force-marched me across the lower half of the Mojave." She took a swig of water and continued

"They only realised I was a woman, when Caesar himself ordered my helmet removed." She was quiet for a while, her mind going through the events, each clear as the day it had happened.

Sato led her to a bunk, and checked over her dressing. "Rest, kid, we'll get someone out here to take you home as soon as we can, at least tomorrow, you can get into some decent armour, right?" he smiled. Olivia felt safe for the first time in weeks, she slept for almost two days.


	8. Chapter 8

She spent the next week recovering, healing and helping Sato with repair work around the Safe house. He got her back into a set of Power Armour, which at first she thought about refusing for the recon armour but then realised that the more she pushed away, the harder it would be to get back into the saddle and be a Paladin again. Every so often she would begin to shake uncontrollably, almost dropping a focus crystal for a laser rifle which she was cleaning, before Sato took her hands in his and sat her down to calm her.

Sato helped her as much as he could; working with her on handling the heavy weapons inside the bunker. The Minigun had a little too much kick for her, in her still weakened state but the spare Gatling Laser she found was just right. She smiled from behind the power armour as she vaporised a small herd of Deathclaws which had returned to the Gypsum train yards across from the Safe house. The bodies of the Legion soldiers who were her escorts had been cleaned up by scavengers. She felt no remorse for their losses.

At night her dreams were haunted by nightmares of Caesar, she would often wake in the night bathed in sweat and screaming. Sato would be there with a glass of water, he held her while the trembling subsided and she returned to a restless sleep.

She woke to voices talking softly, one she recognised. Veronica was there Olivia kept her eyes closed and listened to the conversation.

"She has bad nightmares, screaming out at Caesar, she fights in her sleep. It took me a couple of days to get her back into a suit of power armour; it was like she was afraid of it." Sato explained. "I don't know what they did to her, but it must have been bad."

Veronica spoke, "Well, we are on our way back to Hidden Valley, we can take her with us back home."

Another voice entered the conversation, a male, "Something big is going to happen soon at the Dam, and we need to ask the help of the Brotherhood on behalf of the NCR."

Sato chuckled, "Good luck with that, there's still a lot of bad blood with the NCR."

"I know." Said the Courier, "but we need all the help we can get if we're going to kick those Legion bastards back to hell."

Olivia opened her eyes and sat up. She looked at Veronica, who noticed she was awake.

"Morning sleepy-head." She smiled at Olivia. "If you're up for some travel, we'll head back to Hidden Valley today." She said, coming to sit beside her. Veronica gave Olivia a hug, and she broke down.

"Guys, can you give us a minute?" Veronica asked The Courier and Sato, who both nodded and headed up the ladder to the top floor.

"Ok, easy Olivia, what the hell did they do to you?" Veronica asked the sobbing Paladin as she held her.

"You really don't want to know." Olivia sobbed, breaking the embrace and wiping her tears. "I don't even know if I'll be fit for active duty for a while, if ever." Olivia sniffled.

"Hey, we're family; we'll help you get back into it. Ramos will kick my butt if I didn't bring you home, Shuler was asking about you, as was Torres, and you wouldn't believe it, and you didn't hear it from me, But Head Paladin Hardin was actually pleased to hear you were alive." Veronica consoled her, and she smiled at the thought of Hardin being pleased about something.

"Well, I guess there's no point in me staying here; I think Sato was getting annoyed with me sitting on my butt all day doing his repair work. It's time to go Home." Veronica helped her up, and they gathered the merchants clothing that she had worn when Sato had rescued her from the Deathclaws. They climbed up to the top floor and met up with The Courier and Sato.

"Ready?" the Courier asked her, she nodded. ED-E floated behind him, she hadn't noticed the eyebot before, but had heard Knight Lorenzo getting all excited about it when the Courier brought it in.

Sato handed her a Laser RCW and some Electron Charge Packs, and another bag with various items in it for her travel. She smiled. "Thanks, Sato, I owe you." She smiled, embracing him; he patted her on the back before letting her go. "Get home safe." He told them.

The sun was setting as they came up to Nipton. The Courier called a rest break and they ate a quick meal in the ghost town. Veronica kept looking over at her, concern in her eyes. They spoke a little of the events, how the Boomers now had a working Bomber, and how the Great Khans had broken their agreement with Caesar and were going to join them in the fight. Mr House was out of the picture now, and despite the NCR thinking that he was helping them, the Courier had plans for a free, independent Vegas, and he hinted at a secret weapon at fortification hill that Caesar thought he had destroyed.

The Courier told her of how he had escaped with the platinum chip, which she suddenly realised was the missing component to the console Caesar had her working on. The Courier and Veronica had fought their way out of the Fort with the Chip before the Praetorian Guard could confiscate their weapons again, taking the platinum chip with them and leaving a trail of dead Legion soldiers behind. Olivia smiled at that, Caesar would be pissed off, and she wasn't there for him to take his anger out on her, which would make him doubly pissed.

When the moon was high, they continued through to Hidden Valley, meeting up with a guard patrol who allowed them to pass. Olivia's excitement at returning home was tempered with trepidation, she worried that the others would judge her for her actions. She didn't want sympathy; she wanted understanding and a chance for revenge.

The doors opened to the inner bunker, Ramos, Head Paladin Hardin, Scribe Shuler and Elder McNamara all stood there to welcome her home.

"Welcome Home." The Elder said warmly, putting an arm around her shoulder and leading her down into the bunker.

Scribe Shuler checked her over in the bunker's medical bay and gave her the physical all clear. She had set up an appointment for the next day to discuss the mental check-up.

Elder McNamara and Head Paladin Hardin were waiting for her in the control centre.

"It seems you have undergone quite an ordeal from this report, we are glad to have you back, safe amongst us. There are so few of us left, we barely make the numbers for a full chapter anymore. We have concerns over your mental state however, considering the damage that Caesar has done to your mind in his horrendous actions against you." Olivia knew what the Elder was getting at.

"I'm not cleared for a return to active duty, am I sir?" she asked.

"Considering the circumstances, no." he replied, "Although we need every man and woman available, we can't risk you…" he searched for the right words.

"You can't risk me putting the rest of my patrol at risk by having a mental breakdown." Olivia said bitterly.

Head Paladin Hardin nodded, "Unfortunately, Romano, yes. However you are still cleared to use the facilities, gun range, VR units et cetera, we will monitor your progress with Scribe Shuler as well as Ramos, who will be checking on your weapons handling, we have to make sure that you make a full recovery before we can release you for active duty." He said somewhat sternly.

"I understand sir, if there's nothing else?" she asked. The elder dismissed her, and she left the command centre as quickly as decorum and dignity would allow.


	9. Chapter 9

Authors note: final chapter guys, Thanks for sticking with me and i hope you enjoyed the story!

The noise of the gun range drowned out everything else around her. she envisaged Caesar's head on the dummy before her, the Gauss Rifle in her hands felt light and she ignored the recoil as the magnetised coils forced the projectile into the dummy's head. Soon there was little left of the dummy's head but shredded material.

She had spent hours just firing the Gauss Rifle into the target dummy, venting her anger and frustration. She had done this all day, every day for the week that she had been back and she'd had a small following of initiates watching her.

As she reloaded after a shot, she heard a commotion in the hallway; she fired into the recently replaced dummy and then turned to look at the groups of Brotherhood soldiers rushing out. She signed in the Gauss Rifle to the Master-at-arms before following the others.

Paladin Hardin and Elder McNamara stood before them; The Courier was also standing there with Veronica in the background

"There is going to be a battle in the near future at Hoover Dam, between the NCR and the soldiers of Caesar's Legion. I have discussed the situation with our friend, the Courier, and have decided to call a temporary true with the NCR. For the Legion to succeed in taking this region would be the death of us all. Already they have attempted to find us through a captured patrol, where only one of our soldiers survived their assault and managed to escape but at a high cost."

Olivia felt a little self-conscious, knowing that the elder spoke of her, and felt the eyes of her fellow Brotherhood soldiers upon her. She listened as the Elder spoke of what was to be done; All Paladins were to prepare for the attack. Her eyes never left Hardin; he glanced her way and then quickly looked away. When the company was dismissed, she made her way to him.

"Sir, May I speak to you?" she asked.

"Not now, Romano." Hardin said gruffly.

"Sir, with respect, I really need to speak with you." She pushed. Hardin looked around and then nodded in the direction of his room. "Quickly." He said and moved off smartly, Olivia followed.

When they were in his room he turned to her.

"You know where we stand on this issue, Paladin." He said to her.

"Yes, sir, that's right, I _am_ a Paladin, and after everything I have been through, everything I have endured at the hands of the Legion, I need to prove myself. This isn't about getting my revenge on Caesar sir, this is about me proving to myself, and my peers that I am ready to get back out there and go back on active duty." She paused and took a deep breath.

"I need this, sir, please."

Hardin was quiet for a long moment, his gaze never left her face. He leaned both clenched fists on the desk that stood between them and bowed his head.

"You will take point with me, if I see anything about your actions that come across as reckless or is a danger to you or the squad; I'm pulling you off the field, got it?" he said seriously.

"Sir. Yes Sir!" Olivia responded smartly, offering a grateful salute to Hardin.

Harden took her to the quarter master; Knight Torres had already had a large amount of equipment sectioned out. Amongst the gleaming T51-B hardware there was heavy weapons such as Gatling lasers miniguns and heavy incinerators, laser rifles, laser RCWs all spread out for selection by the Paladins. Hardin selected a Gatling laser for her and grabbed a plenty of Ammo. He gave her a Laser pistol for backup plus several plasma grenades.

He handed her the equipment, "Suit up." He ordered her. She nodded and almost ran to her room. She returned a few minutes later to find Hardin speaking with Elder McNamara. Her heart almost stopped; here was the one man who could override Hardin's decision to allow her to go.

The Elder turned and looked at her, a gentle smile on his face. He placed a hand on her power armour pauldron. "Give as good as you get, Olivia, and come back home again."

Olivia smiled, "That's a promise, sir." She said to the Elder. She picked up her weaponry and followed the other Paladins out to the staging area.

Hardin looked over the men and women who made up the fighting force of Paladins, every one of them not out on patrol or procurement missions was there. Olivia stood proudly with her fellows, holding her Gatling laser with ease, aided by the suit. From within her T51-d Helmet she heard her breathing. Her heart rate was a nice and steady 70bpm. She checked her systems with a quick on-board diagnostic, everything was working perfectly. She looked to her left and right, the other two Paladins with her and Hardin would begin by "Clearing the road' with the NCR heavy Troopers.

They marched out, moving as quickly as they could and made good time to the Dam. They spent the night in the visitor centre resting and preparing for the coming battle. The Courier arrived the next morning and the battle was joined.

In the clear sky and bright sunshine, all hell broke loose upon Hoover Dam as the soldiers of the Legion and NCR and their Allies began the second Battle for Hoover Dam.

Olivia stood in formation with the other troopers and Paladins, watching as the field of red before them began to move, firing pot-shots at them, which would ping and ricochet harmlessly off their armour. Hardin raised his fist and dropped it, they moved out as one.

Olivia had to admire the steadiness of the NCR Heavy Troopers, they seemed to work fine without the control servos helping them in their salvaged power armour. She noticed though that they seemed to lag behind the Paladins of the Brotherhood of Steel, she smiled to herself, "Pussies." She said quietly.

"What's that Romano?" Hardin's voice crackled over the comms.

"I'm just saying that these NCR Heavy troopers look like they need a nap already sir, they seem to be falling back a little bit from the lines!" Olivia called back, she heard laughter coming across from her other Paladins.

"Good observation Romano, lets show them what _real_ power armour can do," He hefted his Gatling laser, "Clear the Road Kids!" he called and opened fire.

Olivia heard the characteristic whine of the pre-fire chamber warming up she watched as the beautiful but deadly lasers shot out from her weapon as they marched forwards. Men fell before her clad in the crimson of Caesar's Legion. Those who did not turn to ash, she kicked out of her way as they reached the first lines of dead.

Behind them, the advancement of the NCR and its allies moved and spread out to encompass the tower buildings and the pump stations. They took every meter of the Dam with heavy losses. From the Fort she could see fires raging, belching out heavy thick black smoke.

"What the fuck?" one of the Paladins said in wonderment as a Pre-war Bomber flew overhead and dropped a deadly arsenal of ordinance onto the Legion soldiers. The ground beneath them shook, as the plane completed its bombing run and left for the north.

"Burn your bastard, Burn in Hell!" Olivia screamed out towards the Fort where Caesar had perished at the hands of the Securitron Army that the Courier had activated while they were clearing the way of Legion Soldiers.

"Second wave!" called out their point man, as a fresh wave of soldiers streamed out from one of the pumping towers

"Spread them to the four winds! For the Brotherhood!" Hardin called.

"For the Brotherhood!" Olivia and the rest of the squad cheered. Olivia reloaded her Gatling laser and continued with the work. Soldier after soldier turned to ash and complied with Hardin's order, scattering across the dam by the four winds. She felt nothing for these murderous, slaving, raping bastards, and her heart rate never went over 70bpm the entire time.

She was calm as she dealt red-fiery death to the men of Caesar's legion, she left drained EC packs behind her and the emitters on her Gatling laser began to glow red. Hardin put a hand on her shoulder and held her back.

"Romano, cool your weapon, change to the backup for a bit." She looked at Hardin through the dusty lenses of her helmet, "Yes, sir." She said, taking out her laser pistol and shoulder-holstering her Gatling laser

She dealt considerably less damage with the little laser pistol, but was able to manoeuvre much easier. They had lost the Heavy Troopers a little way back, their bodies exhausted from hauling their heavy equipment around, they'd made mistakes and had paid for it. The end was in sight, they'd breached the forward lines of the Legion and were almost knee deep in their bodies and ashen remains, the Legion's camp was in sight, and it was here that the fighting was fiercest.

Olivia had gone back to using her Gatling laser when the final Legions soldiers broke ranks and fled. The courier broke through the ranks and entered the Legate's Camp while the rest of the forces completed Mop-up operations of any stragglers, or die-hard legionaries.

General Oliver moved through the ranks, surrounded by the 'useful' Heavy Troopers. Hardin called a halt to the Paladins who formed up beside him and waited.

The gates opened and the Courier threw the head of the infamous Legate Lanius to Oliver. It bounced and rolled until it stopped at the General's feet.

"We have achieved a victory here General, The Battle is finished, perhaps so is your war with the Legion. But there's a problem." The Courier spoke loudly. There was a Securitron behind him with a stupid grin on its flickering monitor in place of the 'grunt' face on the monitors of the several hundred Securitrons that now wheeled their way through to stand behind the surviving NCR forces.

"Oh, and what's that?" Oliver asked.

"New Vegas is a Free and Independent place, as is the surrounding areas. The NCR has no claim over this area, the Dam, Helios One, Vegas of any of the towns in the Mojave Wasteland. You're welcome to visit, but staying isn't an option." The Courier declared, Olivia could see the throbbing veins in the General's neck as his anger became manifest, to win the day, only to have it snatched away by someone they trusted proved almost too much for him to bear, especially in front of his Troops.

"I could just kill you right here, right now, I outnumber you." He said, not realising the Securitron Army at his back.

"Well, yes we could fight over it, but I think I actually outnumber you right now, General. You see, I had a little surprise up my sleeve at the Fort, and now that that's been dealt with, I called my backup troops to come and help out here, all it takes in one word from me and I can have you turned into ash." Olivia smiled at the cockiness of the Courier, he played with fire, toying with the General like that, but she enjoyed it all the same.

The General said something under his breath, then shouted, "This isn't over, we'll be back!" he turned and stalked away.

"Don't forget to bring your Lucky Gambler's Suit!" the Courier called out.

With the final battle over and won, the Courier offered the Brotherhood of Steel the chance to take over the care of the two Power plants, The Elder had agreed eagerly, promising that the power would flow to everyone freely along with the good, clean water. Olivia was promoted to Senior Paladin for her dedication and actions during the battle, she would face many personal demons throughout her life, but she was glad to know that one could never hurt her again.

She stood in Caesar's Tent and looked at his corpse. His Praetorian guard all dead around him. She smiled grimly,

"Hope you're enjoying Hell, you son-of-a-bitch." She said.

Peace was welcomed by all who lived and worked for survival in the Mojave Wasteland, But war was always a threat,

and War… War Never Changes.

a BIG thank-you to everyone who has read the story through from Chapter 1 to the end, I'm quite overwhelmed with the Views that I've seenon the tracker, and for those who reviewed, thank you so much for your input, I truly hope you enjoyed the story. I may do a sequel, we'll have to see where inspiration strikes us!.

-Starsa83


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